1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel composition which may primarily be employed for animal or cat litter, but can also be employed as plant mulch or a grease and oil absorbent.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many cat litter compositions are available on the market which comprise an absorbent, a deodorant and sometimes a coloring agent and disinfectant agent. Absorbents such as clay, fuller's earth, cotton, wool, linen, paper, lime, diatomaceous earth, pumice, sand, wood chips, vermiculite, peat and alfalfa are employed for cat litter compositions. These absorbents typically comprise approximately 5-40% by weight of the cat litter. The following patents disclose a cat litter composition comprising gypsum and paper or other absorbents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,470 to Williams teaches making deodorant by shaping and sizing an absorbent material to fit within a circular holder, and saturating the absorbent material with a deodorizing solution. One of the absorbent materials listed in the patent is paper. Another material which may also be employed, not as an absorbent, but as a carrier, is gypsum. The deodorant compositions are primarily either aluminum sulfate with a fragrance, or aluminum chloride with a fragrance.
The absorbent material saturated with the deodorant is positioned in a circular holder under the litter box for emitting deodorant vapors about the area surrounding the litter box.
This reference has several deficiencies in that the litter box is designed to employ a commercially available cat litter, in addition to the self-made deodorizer, thus yielding a product which is expensive and is not adaptable to other uses, like plant mulch.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,489 to Kelley teaches a method for pelletizing waste paper products, and mixing the pellets with portland cement and gypsum to form a light weight insulating concrete which can be cast or sprayed into place. This reference also describes the use of the pelletized paper, by itself, as a plant mulch or potting soil.
This patent is not employed as an animal or cat litter. Furthermore, the gypsum is not uniformly incorporated into the pelletized paper, but is merely employed as a coating or binder along with the portland cement to make a light weight cement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,674 to Been teaches a process for making a synthetic liquid absorbent which may be employed for cat litter. Specifically, used newspaper is pulped with water and gypsum, dried and granulated. The composition contains 59 to 79% by weight hydrated gypsum in the form of plaster, 0.9% to 3.7% by weight paper and 29.5% to 37% by weight water.
This reference has several deficiencies including the fact that the composition is not pelletized. Furthermore, the composition contains a large amount of gypsum which is granulated into a powder which forms paw prints around the house by the animal user. Also, consumers prefer a product which is easily disposed of by flushing the toilet. With a high percentage of gypsum, the product is dense and practically unflushable, unless multiple flushes are employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,047 to Luca teaches an absorbent for animal excreta comprising vermiculite, gypsum and water, and optionally, a surfactant to aid in wetting the vermiculite and a disinfectant. After blending the above components with a composition, the composition is dried to drive off all the water. Thus, the primary components comprise vermiculite and gypsum while the optional components comprise disinfectant and surfactant. The final composition contains 40-66% by weight gypsum, 20-33% by weight vermiculite. The vermiculite can be replaced with some clay. Consequently, 0 to 33% by weight clay can be employed as a replacement for some of the vermiculite.
This reference also contains several deficiencies including the fact that the composition contains a large amount of gypsum which adheres to the user who leaves paw prints around the house. This characteristic is further aggravated by the vermiculite which is a very light weight material, and easily clings to the paws and fur of animals. Lastly, both vermiculite and gypsum are not biodegradable and therefore they do not easily break down at a sewage treatment plant.
Because of the various differences of the above products, there currently exists a need for an animal or cat litter which is odorless (and thus natural smelling to the animal user), trackless, biodegradable and flushable.